Prolonged play with the ColorFlares: how does open-ended play behavior change over time?

Authors:
Lisa op't Hof;Jente de Pee;Janienke Sturm;Tilde Bekker;Jos Verbeek
Affiliations:
Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands;Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands;Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands;Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands;Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Venue:
Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Fun and Games
Year:
2010

Citing 11
Cited 1

Evaluating computer game concepts with children

Proceedings of the 2004 conference on Interaction design and children: building a community
A new playground experience: going digital?

CHI '06 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Morel: remotely launchable outdoor playthings

Proceedings of the 2006 ACM SIGCHI international conference on Advances in computer entertainment technology
Stimulating children's physical play through interactive games: two exploratory case studies

Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Interaction design and children
Validating the Fun Toolkit: an instrument for measuring children’s opinions of technology

Cognition, Technology and Work
Evaluating Children's Interactive Products: Principles and Practices for Interaction Designers

Evaluating Children's Interactive Products: Principles and Practices for Interaction Designers
OPOS: an observation scheme for evaluating head-up play

Proceedings of the 5th Nordic conference on Human-computer interaction: building bridges
Key issues for the successful design of an intelligent, interactive playground

IDC '08 Proceedings of the 7th international conference on Interaction design and children
Stimulating physical and social activity through open-ended play

Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
Designing playful interactions for social interaction and physical play

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
MARBOWL: increasing the fun experience of shooting marbles

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

Exploring the design space of shape-changing objects: imagined physics

Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

This paper describes an explorative user study with interactive objects for open-ended play, i.e. play with flexible game goals and rules. Children were asked to play with interactive objects, called the ColorFlares, in three free play sessions over a period of three weeks. We measured social interaction in terms of social play and social communication. We found that group play over all three sessions remained high. We also found that communication in the first session was mainly about the possibilities of the ColorFlares. Later on, communication was related more to the games that were played, giving each other feedback. We also discuss the personal and situational factors that have influence on the test results.